But more and more people are getting these benefits as Hilton has an instant or almost instant Gold promo almost every few months.

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Yeah, and that's the case for quite a few hotel chains. But between the instant/easy Gold and the status match between chains, the perks like free WiFi or free breakfast are the only things that you can actually count on.

The easier it is to achieve status without actually having to work for it, the more likely you'll have issues with getting upgrades because of capacity controls. The only thing you can do is hoard the points and hope you can use them at a later time.

Yeah, and that's the case for quite a few hotel chains. But between the instant/easy Gold and the status match between chains, the perks like free WiFi or free breakfast are the only things that you can actually count on.

The easier it is to achieve status without actually having to work for it, the more likely you'll have issues with getting upgrades because of capacity controls. The only thing you can do is hoard the points and hope you can use them at a later time.

Thanks uggboy for the link! Extremely helpful. I tried it and it worked!

However, don't know if I ever going to use it though. I've been extremely loyal to Hyatt and it feels like I'm cheating. But given the lackluster promo from Hyatt lately, Hilton is looking more and more attractive to me.

Thanks uggboy for the link! Extremely helpful. I tried it and it worked!

However, don't know if I ever going to use it though. I've been extremely loyal with Hyatt and it feels like I'm cheating. But given the lackluster promo from Hyatt lately, Hilton is looking more and more attractive to me.

HH Gold is great, both for its ease of getting it without stays and it's perks of breakfast and wifi. I'm actually downgrading from Diamond to Gold, and except for a really nice stay at the Waldorf, I don't think I'm going to miss it. I never felt like I got the nicer room most times anyway. So free food and internet are good for me.

You will loose points for inactivity, but you should not loose your account number.

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Hilton Honors FAQ said:

29. Will my HHonors account stay open even if I don't stay at a Hilton Worldwide hotel?

Members who do not earn points in any 12 month consecutive period may be removed from the Program and, if so, are subject to forfeiture of all accumulated points. The account may be reactivated by the member taking one of the following actions:

(b) Earn HHonors points through any third party source of HHonors point accumulation; or

(c) Purchase HHonors points

Failure to take action (a), (b), or (c) described above within the prescribed 90-day period will result in the closure of the Member's account and the forfeiture of all accumulated points. Members can redeem HHonors points for any HHonors reward for which they are eligible prior to the account being closed. After the points have been redeemed, the HHonors account will be closed and all remaining points in the account will be forfeited.

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So it sounds like Hilton will delete your account if there has been no activity in over a year and they feel like it.

Members who do not have eligible activity as defined in a. - d. below in any 12 consecutive month period may be removed from the Program and are subject to forfeiture of all accumulated points. At the discretion of Hilton HHonors Worldwide, such Members may be permitted to remain in the Program and removed after five years of inactivity.. To keep accumulated HHonors points, the Member must take one of the following actions within a 12 consecutive month period:

stay at a hotel within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio pursuant to the terms herein;

earn HHonors points through any third party source of HHonors point accumulation, including a Hilton co-branded credit card, pursuant to its terms;

So it sounds like Hilton will delete your account if there has been no activity in over a year and they feel like it.

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In this day and age, with all the promos and shopping mall deals and other ways to actually accumulate points, I think the argument can be made that if you allow your account to go completely untouched for over a year, you probably didn't want it in the first place.

I think it's one thing to mothball an airline account because prices are high or the carrier doesn't have a lot of flights to/from where you want to go, but even then you can still get a couple of miles here and there to keep the account active. With hotels it's a whole other ballgame... unless you're in the middle of nowhere, you probably can't swing a cat without hitting 3 or 4 Hilton properties... and with things like the HHonors e-shopping mall, you can probably buy some band-aids and keep your account active for another year.

I guess it's one more argument for signing up for one of those aggregator sites that notifies you when your points are going to expire.

I started with HHonors because, for the time being, Hilton has the hotels that I would like to stay in as a reward. Before, I stayed/spent based on price or location. Easy gold status just makes it that much more likely that I will decide to spend my money with Hilton rather than with a competitor.

but then there is a dilemma where to stay again if you have a status at multiple hotel programs

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Yeah you have to be careful not to waste a status match request if you're not planning to put time into preserving that status. Even if you meet the challenge and end up being Gold / Platinum for a year but you don't plan to stay at that hotel often (or at all) then you're basically just wasting it. Instead you should really plan ahead as far as how many trips you're going to take, where you're going to stay and (most importantly IMO) where you want to enjoy the benefits of being elite (whether it's reward nights, amenities, etc), and work on that chain.

If you get a status match with SPG but what you really want is to stay at a Conrad in Bali, then it doesn't matter.

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